Strong demand for glass used in LCDs during the first half of financial year 1995 has benefited Asahi Glass, Nippon Sheet Glass, and Central Glass. However, demand for plate glass for industrial use a…
Strong demand for glass used in LCDs during the first half of financial year 1995 has benefited Asahi Glass, Nippon Sheet Glass, and Central Glass. However, demand for plate glass for industrial use and automotive glass declined, and unit prices slipped. Consequently, Asahi Glass and Central Glass recorded first-half sales increases of 3.2% year-on-year (YOY) and 1.1% YOY, to JPY 454.3 billion and JPY 71.3 billion, respectively. Nippon Sheet Glass, on the other hand, recorded a 2.2% YOY decrease, to JPY 102.4 billion. Successful restructuring, led to strong current profit increases, ranging from 11.2% (Central Glass) to 186.7% (Nippon Sheet Glass). For the full term, Japan“s leading glassmakers expect this trend to continue, with Asahi Glass and Nippon Sheet Glass forecasting 12.7% and 197.2% YOY current profit rises. The exception is Central Glass, which expects a 37.5% YOY decline in current profits, to JPY 2.5 billion, partly due to a second-half marketable security valuation loss of JPY 4.8 billion. Furthermore, the three companies pressed ahead with streamlining, including cuts in labour and distribution costs, at a time when the glass market was hit by a surge in cheap imports and poor demand from the building sector. Shipments of liquid crystal display glass and other electronics industry-related products helped improve the three firms“ bottom lines. Asahi Glass enjoyed robust exports of cathode-ray tube glass for personal computers and materials for vinyl chloride resins to Southeast Asia. Japan“s biggest glass manufacturer changed its accounting year to the 12 months through March from December. Nippon Sheet Glass“ sales dropped on lower revenues from glass for automobiles unlike Central Glass, whose shipments of automobile glass soared. The three companies expect demand linked to restoration work after the Great Hanshin earthquake in January 1995 to begin helping performances no earlier than the fiscal year starting April 1996. Glassmaker Sales Recurring profit Asahi Glass 454.2 (-) 14.3 (-) Nippon Sheet Glass 102.4 (-2.2) 1.0 (186.7) Central Glass 71.3 (1.1) 2.0 (11.2) Note: No year-to-year comparison is available for Asahi Glass due to a change in its accounting year.